It was the top of the fourth inning with Fullerton leading 1-0. There was a runner on first base with one out, and third baseman Kate Pedroza at the plate. The count was full, and Fullerton starting pitcher Grace Workman tried to sneak a fastball by Pedroza. Pedroza was ready as she rocketed a ball into center field that had a home run written all over it. Instead, it hit off the top of the wall for an RBI double.
The Warriors added on to their rally in a 6-3 win over the Hornets on Friday. Two batters later, runners were on second and third for shortstop Kamaile Ho. Ho hit a hot shot over to third baseman Lisa Villanueva. El Camino’s Pedroza, over at third base, was running on contact. Villanueva got Pedroza in a pickle situation, and Hornets catcher Faith Krueger received Villanueva’s throw from home plate.
Krueger chased down Pedroza at third base and missed the tag. Warriors left fielder Melissa Terrazas, who was on third base at the time, tried to scamper back to second base. Fullerton second baseman Zoey Bautista received a Krueger throw from third base. The Hornets were looking to get an out on the base paths. Terrazas stayed in the rundown long enough for Pedroza to make a break toward home plate again.
Bautista heard her teammates yelling home. When she made the throw, it was wide to the left of Krueger and into the backstop. Pedroza scored on the play to give the Warriors a 2-1 lead.
“Some of the pitches weren’t hitting their locations, and it kept some of our players off guard, and I told them, you gotta be ready no matter what. Multiple pitches were hitting the wrong location,” said Co-Head Coach Marian Mendoza. “It’s a different ballgame when you play better defense.”
The Hornet players came together and huddled in the circle, trying to encourage each other. Fullerton limited the damage, as Workman got a fielder’s choice groundout at third base. Relief pitcher Sam Vizcarra struck out catcher Trinity Martinez looking on a 1-2 change-up.
It was the opening round of the 3C2A softball regionals. Two teams that were headed in opposite directions. Fullerton came into play winning six of their last seven games, while El Camino had lost their last four before defeating Long Beach in their finale. The Hornets swept the doubleheader from the Warriors back in February, winning 5-3 and 1-0 in 10 innings.
In the fifth inning, the Warriors added on to their lead. El Camino had a runner on second with one out and first baseman Emma Padilla at the plate. Padilla hit a grounder over to first baseman Toafa Pua. The ball went underneath Pua’s glove and into right field for a hit. Right fielder Alana Eisel got to the ball quickly and threw a perfect strike to catcher Krueger on a one-hopper.
Krueger was unable to secure the ball at home plate, as pinch runner Abigale Dedech scored on the play. The Warriors added on to their lead with two outs and runners on the corners. Left fielder Terrazas stepped into the batter’s box. Terrazas popped a fly ball into shallow center field.
Three Hornet players converged on a pop-up that was in no man’s land. Second baseman Bautista called for it, as right fielder Eisel tried to call off Bautista. Eisel made a diving attempt, but in the process, center fielder Dakoda Hilvers cut in front of Eisel to make a basket catch. The ball fell in and trickled off Hilvers, rolling toward right field. Two runs scored on the play, making it 5-1 El Camino.
Co-Head Coach Crystal Aguirre, after the inning was over, was conversing with the coaches to refocus the players and trim into El Camino’s lead.
In the bottom half of the fifth inning, Fullerton would not go away. Lisa Villanueva stepped up to the plate with a runner on second with one out. Villanueva torched a ball into left-center field. Off the bat, it looked like the ball was gone, but instead it went off the wall for an RBI double. Pua kept the rally going. On a 0-1 count, Pua took a Raquel Alonso change-up and scorched it into center field for an RBI single, cutting the deficit to 5-3.
“I was thinking see ball, hit ball, and doing whatever I can to hit it. Coach Joe mentioned that we need to swing hard, like we’ve never missed before, and I think that’s what I executed today,” said Pua.
Alonso got out of the jam, as pinch-hitter Carlie Danovich flew out to right field. Hornets shortstop Alexandria Valdez struck out swinging.
Fullerton had an opportunity to cut into El Camino’s deficit in the sixth inning. Villanueva was the winning run at the plate, with runners on the corners and two outs. Alonso went with a 0-1 rise ball to Villanueva and got her to hit a soft liner to first baseman Padilla.
Mendoza felt that the team did not execute the game plan offensively.
“Lack of execution, discipline, and pitch selection. We did have three innings where we had runners in scoring position,” said Mendoza. “We didn’t capitalize.”
The Warriors added another run in the seventh inning, when Pedroza drove in designated player Gabby Merced. That made it 6-3 El Camino.
El Camino’s Alonso shut the door after giving up a single to Pua. Designated player Danovich fouled out to catcher Martinez. Krueger grounded into a fielder’s choice, and pinch-hitter Lily Rice flew out to center fielder Jazmin McHenry for the final out.
Fullerton will look to stave off elimination and win the next two games.
“We’re gonna see how tough they are right now. Let’s see what they’re made of, because I believe that we’re a much better team than we play today. We didn’t show you our best game,” said Mendoza.
